annoyed

I am annoyed tonight. About a week and a half ago, this little six year old girl Charlene started playing at our house in the evenings. Our neighbors across the street have a basement apartment and I thought she'd moved in there, but Michelle says she doesn't live there but just visits a lot. (And Michelle probably knows what she's talking about.) Anyway, about a week ago, Michelle's two wheel bike vanished and Michelle said this Charlene took it. I told her to tell me the next time she saw the girl and I would talk to her and get it back. Well, a few days ago (Saturday, I think) she came running and said Charlene was there. I went outside to talk to her and Charlene was pulling Michelle's bike out of her car! That made me a little upset, but she gave Michelle the bike back and I let it go.

Then Monday I came home from work and Charlene was playing at our house. No big deal. The kids were in the back yard and I was in the kitchen doing dishes, watching out the window. Charlene's mom came over (who I'd never met) and I could hear her talking loudly. So I went outside to see what was happening. She complained that she needed to leave and that Charlene didn't want to come. Then she asked me if I could watch her daughter for about 3 hours. It was a little after six, and I said no, my kids needed to be in bed in less than 3 hours. Then she said she could be back in two hours and would I please let Charlene just stay and play until then. I said yes. It wasn't that big of a deal, really. I don't mind having other kids over to play, but I barely know this little girl and I don't know the mom at all. I thought it was awfully strange that she would willingly leave her daughter with a stranger. I mean letting her play at my house when she's just across the street is one thing, but to just leave and not know my name or phone number or anything about me seemed odd. I also felt like telling her that she was the mom and if they needed to go, then she should just tell her daughter it was time to go and make her go. I mean, I know it's not always that easy, but who's the parent here? Plus, I had worked all day and was tired and I'm a week away (about) from having a baby. It seemed all together odd and not very polite to expect a stranger to watch her child. I should probably have said no, and did try, but she was pretty insistent and I am not that great at saying no.

Then today when we got home after work, Michelle's bike was across the street. Now Michelle isn't always great at putting her bikes/trikes away after using them, but her bike was up on our carport when I left for work this morning. Michelle went and got it and brought it home. Then about half an hour ago, I was in the living room and happened to glance out the window. Charlene was wheeling Michelle's bike down our driveway and about to cross the street. I opened the window and told her that is Michelle's bike. I told her that she can play with Michelle's toys when Michelle is outside playing with her but that she can't just come and take Michelle's bike or other things or play in our yard if we aren't home or aren't outside. Then I happened to notice that her mom was sitting there in the yard, watching her. I'm annoyed with the little girl but even more annoyed with the mother. Who lets their child take someone else's bike home with them for several days? My next door neighbor's daughter will occassionally ride Michelle's trike when we aren't outside, but we know them really well AND they always put it back.

I'm going to be more conscientious about making sure Michelle puts her stuff away, but since we don't have a garage, being put away just entails putting them at the top of our carport behind our cars. So during the day when we're gone, they are still visible. We've never had any problems EVER with things being taken before. Arggh!

I have a sub!

What a relief! I shared with a couple people that as of this morning, I didn't know if I had a sub. (And school starts next week.) My school secretary called last Wednesday to tell me that it had been approved by the district to have a parent named Michelle who regularly subs at our school be my long term sub. I just needed to call and verify with her. But the way the message was worded I didn't know if anyone had talked to her yet or if she was available. I called all weekend and just got a voice mail (which only said the phone number and not her name... I got a call today from some lady telling me that my many phone calls were to her phone and that no Michelle lived there!) So I was feeling pretty stressed out that one week before school starts, I may or may not have a sub. But it turns out the school had talked to her and she is available and wants to do it, she just needed to know that she'd been approved. So the vice principal said she has her correct phone number and would call her today to let her know. So hopefully I can get a hold of her tomorrow and get everything totally set in stone. And she'll be wonderful! She has great control/management skills. She'll follow my lesson plans. She knows our school. She is an AWESOME sub! I'm so grateful that it has all worked out.

Just a little side note: Yesterday in Sunday School we were studying Alma 33-35, which talk a lot about praying and the need to pray for your families, fields, flocks, enemies, etc. I was sitting there thinking... how dumb, I've been worried about this sub issue but I've never thought to pray about it. I've prayed that I could get my classroom set up and my sub plans done before little Gabrielle makes her grand entrance. I've prayed that my delivery will go smoothly. I've prayed that the sub will be a good one. But I hadn't prayed specifically about this current dilemma. So I did yesterday and felt much calmer. Then I found out this morning that it should all work out very well. What an answer to prayers. I am so relieved.

sweet husband

As a special treat Wednesday, Alfredo decided to stop by the French bakery The Gourmandise (spelling?) on his way home from work. They have yummy (but expensive) pastries and desserts. He bought his favorite and then 3 things for me. Yum! They were all delicious.

This is my favorite. I'm not sure what it's called but it's like a mini-pie. It has a crust and then a vanilla pudding and then fresh raspberries on top. Yum! I love it.

There was also a chocolate raspberry brownie, his cake (top right... don't know what it is) and a rolled cookie-like thing. I probably didn't make them sound that appetizing, but they are yummy. And quite rich. I didn't finish them until today (although I ate the raspberry one right away!). From time to time he'll surprise me with flowers or treats or a small gift just because, without their being any ocassion. Thank you Alfredo! I love you!

to do list... almost done

A few weeks back I shared my to-do list for this summer. I'm proud to say that I've accomplished nearly everything on my list. I've cleaned and organized every closet in my house, finished 3 1/2 weeks worth of sub plans, gotten the baby's room ready, taken tons of stuff to DI, cleaned and organized just about every room, frozen 20 meals, etc. I've done my back to school shopping (for Michelle and for my classroom). My classroom is just about ready to go. And, drum roll please, I have cleaned and organized my office. Now I won't show before pictures because well, I would be too mortified. I will just say that my office is an office, scrapbooking room, library and dumping ground. And it was embarrassingly cluttered and unorganized. Few, if any of you, have ever seen it because it was such a disaster. But I have worked hard in the past week to tackle my two last projects... sub plans and my office. Alfredo helped with the office, moving things around and stuff. But I am so pleased with how it looks now, especially compared with how it looked before. It's still not perfect, but it is user friendly and good enough for me.

the computer desk/office area... this poor desk is at least 10 years old and was falling apart. We were going to buy a new one, but last weekend Alfredo decided that 1) we've spent money on other things recently, 2) he wanted to get the office fixed up and organized NOW and didn't want to wait to buy a new desk and 3) he could fix this one. Which he did. It actually doesn't look so bad now and overall, I am quite pleased with this room now.

my scrapbookin area with all my materials neatly organized in boxes and drawers... everything now has a place and is in it's place

my bookshelves are still overflowing as you can see... I'm addicted to books. And I really could use another bookshelf (despite the fact that the girls have a bookshelf in their room and the office closet has shelves lined with books and my scrapbooks and I have many, many of my books in my classroom at school)

Side note: The one thing I didn't get done as much as I would have liked this summer was to scrapbook. I wanted to spend more time scrapbooking, but the summer went pretty fast and it just didn't happen. But I'm so pleased with all that I did accomplish.

TTA: Pioneer spirit

Alfredo is a pioneer in his family in many ways. He left home at 18 to come to the United States on his own. He quickly learned English and began studying at the University of Maryland (but never did finish his degree... perhaps someday.) He also is the only member of his family to join the LDS church.

I have many pioneer ancestors. Many of my ancestors crossed the plains in wagons or handcarts. One of my ancestors on my mom's side was a bodyguard for the prophet (I think Joseph Smith, but it may have been Brigham Young.) On my dad's side, we are descended from Lorenzo Dow Young, one of Brigham Young's brothers. Lorenzo was close to the spirit, even as a child. When he was about 9 years old, he had a dream that the Savior came to him in a carriage. The Savior asked where his brother Brigham was. Then He asked where the rest of the family was. Christ said that he wanted the whole family, but especially Brigham. It was such a powerful dream that he awoke and could not sleep the rest of the night. Throughout his life he had many spiritual experiences and did his best to live faithfully and to serve the Savior and others.

I have a binder that contains short biographies about many of my ancestors. I am so grateful for the faith and courage that they had. I know that my life has been blessed because of their faithfulness.

stranger danger

Alfredo has taught the girls not to talk to strangers. He's practiced with them what they should do if a stranger approaches them, offers them candy, asks them to help look for their dog, etc. One day he mentioned this to me and I said Ella was too young to understand. He called Ella over and asked her what to do if a stranger came and offered her candy. She said emphatically, "Say no and run to our house or Jenny's house (our neighbor)." She's repeated this to me several times now.

Well, today my girls went to Aly's house. Someone came to the door that Aly didn't know and Aly said not to open it since it was a stranger. Apparently, Ella heard this and began to cry and shake. She was so afraid that the stranger was there to hurt her. I guess she was pretty upset for several minutes until Aly explained that she just meant it was someone they didn't know and that it wasn't someone dangerous. Poor Ella! (sorry to you too Aly!) I guess those lessons have really sunk in. She must have been pretty upset, because Aly told me about it. Then a few minutes later, Aly's daughter Annie told me about it. Then Michelle told me about it on the way home. Then Ella told Alfredo about it. I can't decide whether it's good that the lessons have stuck or whether it's bad that we have our 3 year old that worried about strangers!

tribute to friends

I just want to thank all my wonderful friends! (And my awesome family too, but they are far away!)

In the last couple of days, I've gotten several calls a day from friends to see how I'm doing/feeling. Several friends have graciously offered to watch my girls while I get school work done. Today I took Aly up on that and my girls had a great time playing at her house this afternoon. It was so helpful. I have the first 3 weeks completely planned, the first 2 weeks or work almost totally copied and my classroom mostly set up now. If my baby were to be born in the next few days, I could go in for about 2 hours next week and be okay.

Not only did Aly watch my girls all afternoon but she baked us homemade bread (It was DELICIOUS!) and made rice krispies.

Carin and I cooked meals to freeze and then traded them so that we'd end up with 16 meals each. That was a huge help.

Shannon, Carin, Jaylynn, and Nene have all offered to watch the girls while I'm in the hospital. My friend Brenda, from work, has called to see how I'm feeling and is really helping me get ready and I know she will help my sub while I'm gone.

I'm sure I'm forgetting others who have called or offered to help. But I just want to say thank you to all of my friends for being so kind and helpful.

It's reminded me a lot of when Ella had her open heart surgery. That was scary, but I remember...even more than being scared... that I was overwhelmed by the kindness our friends, family and neighbors showed. So many people did/offered to do so many kind things. I felt like if I needed anything there was a list of people I could call. Every once in a while Alfredo will say, "Remember that other house that we looked at.... I really liked ______ about it." But I feel so grateful that we bought this house. The house itself isn't perfect, but I can't imagine living anywhere else. (I'm sure we would have made good friends anywhere we lived, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our friends and neighbors here!)

Thank you!

pics of Ella

Ella saw the last post about Michelle and her commercial viewing. She said, "Why aren't there pictures of me?" So here are a couple of shots of Ella taken in the past few weeks. Have I mentioned Ella's new favorite saying? It's "I'm trying." As in, we ask her to come to the kitchen to eat her dinner. "I'm trying." We ask her to calm down, stop crying and tell us what is wrong and she says, "I'm trying." We tell her it's time to get in the tub, "I'm trying." Sometimes she is, but most of the time she isn't and it's just a stalling tactic.

uh-oh!

I've read that commercials influence kids and that you should be careful what commercials (and tv) your kids watch. And I do try (at least most days... I occassionally have a day that I put few limits on tv) to really limit what my kids watch. Mostly they see either movies or cartoons on the disney channel. So I've never seen that commercials had much impact on my girls. But the last couple of weeks, Michelle has paid attention. About a week ago, she told me I absolutely HAD to buy a person that would organize all my stuff. She made me come look at it on tv and told me it would be great because then my purse would be neat and it looked good. A day or two later she saw someone with a purse like the one advertised and said, "See, that's the purse you need."

This morning, she was watching Care Bears while I was working on lesson plans. She came running in and said to come see. It was a commercial for something you stick in your plants. You add water (and maybe plant food?) and it keeps your plants alive. Michelle said, "See how colorful they are and you add water and our plants need them!"

The funny thing is that she never seems to come tell me about a commercial for a toy or child's product. She does sometimes tell me that __________ (insert one of her friend's names) has this cool toy that she wants too. But she's never pointed out a toy seen in a commercial... just stuff for me and for the house.

Any other memories?

I'd love other people to post memories on the Memory Lane tag... even if you don't want to do the tag on your own site or you don't have a blog... Scroll down to the bottom and post a memory you have with me (or with my kids... I'll accept those too! :))

Also, if you never made a guess about when little baby Panameno will come, check out the expect net link on the side. I'll close the voting in a week and maybe I'll give a prize to the lucky winner... but no fair changing your guess if you already guessed! :)

Went to the doctor today... everything continues to look good. Starting to dilate (1 1/2) and about 75% effaced. I'm probably the only pregnant person alive who is hoping that my baby DOESN'T come early. I've got 5 weeks of lesson plans left to write. (the first week is about 20 pages long, and the second week will probably be another 10 pages... but the following 4 weeks will be pretty easy and quick). Wish me luck! At least my house is pretty much ready and I have 20 meals frozen for when the baby comes.

Surprise!

On Sunday, Alfredo's cousin Patty called us and asked us to come over for a bbq. We said okay, but I told her it would be an hour or so because Ella had just fallen asleep. Alfredo started complaining that he was starving and I offered to heat up some leftovers but he said no, let's just go. I started to get ready and he woke Ella up (poor tired girl). He kept saying he was hungry and for us to hurry. So we headed over to his cousin's house. When we got there, no one was there except his uncle. There was a note from Patty saying she'd had an emergency and would call us later. Alfredo said we should wait a half hour and see if they got back. So we sat there and I was getting worried that something was really wrong. Finally, Alfredo said we should just head home.

When we pulled into the driveway, I could see that there were a bunch of people in my backyard and knew that it was a surprise party. But even then, it took a second to click. My first thought was: Who is this party for? My birthday was in February, the girls just had theirs, and Alfredo's isn't until October. Then it hit me. Alfredo, his cousin and his aunt and uncle had planned a surprise baby shower for me! It was Patty's idea.

This is his cousin Patty who did most of the planning.
Ella and I
Oswaldo and Ana, his uncle and aunt who also helped plan the party
my friend Shannon and I
one game they played... they put horchata in bottles and had a contest to see who could drink it the quickest
Alfredo's cousin, Jason, was the definite winner. (Glad I didn't have to play this game. I really dislike horchata. But it was fun to watch.)
Other games played: guess how big my tummy is (most people guessed it was much, much bigger than reality... don't know whether I should feel good or bad about that)
put the pin on the diaper
guess which candy bar is in the diaper
guess the type of baby food


Michelle helping me open presents
Ella and Michelle helping me open presents

As I sat there at the party, I started thinking of all the little things I'd missed that should have clued me in. Alfredo had to work on Sunday, but he got home about 2 PM instead of 5. I'd cleaned the house well on Saturday, but he started tidying up the little bit of clutter that happens with two kids. His cousin had called a bunch of times this past week. But I just figured they had been playing phone tag and kept missing each other. He'd seemed in kind of a hurry for us to go to Patty's (complaining that he was starving) yet once we were there, I kept saying we should just head home so I could cook dinner and he was content to just sit there at his cousin and aunt and uncle's house for 45 minutes. Earlier in the day, when he first got home, he recommended we take a picnic to the park (but since I didn't really have picnic food and already had a different plan for dinner I declined). He asked if Janene was home from her camping trip because "he had a quick question for her." There were actually quite a few hints, but I was still totally surprised. We had a nice time visiting with his family (and a couple of neighbors, the Maldonados and Shannon and Xaria), we received some very nice gifts, and played some silly, fun games. It was so thoughtful of Patty & Nelson, Ana & Oswaldo, and Alfredo to put this together for me.

zoo trip

As I mentioned, we went to the zoo last Wednesday with Shannon, Xaria and Tylan. We had a great time. Here are just a few shots from our fun trip. Poor Ella wouldn't take a nap that day. She was too excited to go to the zoo. So then she fell asleep in the car and was completely out. She missed the alligator and elephants, but fortunately she woke up in time for the monkeys and the rest of the animals.

Ty-Ty... such a boy. After climbing on the statue of the rhino, he had to stick his hand in the rhino's nose and eyes! :)
Xaria and Michelle on the rhino statue
riding the carousel
Ella had fun pushing Michelle in the stroller... Here she is going around and around in circles.
Mommy and Michelle on the train

We had so much fun!

my niece Hannah--10 days old

My sister sent me some pictures of my sweet niece Hannah. These were taken when she was 10 days old. Isn't she beautiful?

I have several things to blog about tonight, but I'm too tired at the moment. But I had to share a few shots of sweet baby Hannah.

36 week shot

I took Shannon up on her comment and let her take a few shots of me at the baby shower. They are better than the other shots. So there they are.

old friends

Alfredo and I met shortly before he joined the church. A mutual friend, Conrad, introduced Alfredo to the church and got him to attend the singles branch where Conrad and I attended. Alfredo and I got married a couple of years later. Well, Conrad got married today. We attended his reception this evening. It was so fun. It was great to see Conrad (finally) married and so happy! And it was so fun to see so many old friends. Our branch president and his wife were there. And then a bunch of friends, most of whom are now married with kids. It was fun to catch up and see what everyone has been up to.

I don't think anyone from the singles branch reads this blog, so this won't mean anything to anyone but me, but I want to record it for my memory's sake.
Heidi (Conrad's sister) has 3 boys and had been living in Arizona, but she's now living in Eagle Mountain. She looks great. She has always been beautiful, and she still is.

Charlene has three kids. A little boy who is four. A girl who is about to turn three (she and Ella hit it off) and a baby boy that is just a few months old. Very cute kids. And Charlene lives right behind Hunter High seminary... so close to us. Can't believe we haven't run into each other. Her hair is short now, and she looks so cute.

Milena Casper was there. Charlie is just finishing up school in Wisconsin and they'll be moving back to Utah in August. They have two boys. Milena is from Brazil, but she speaks English so clearly now. It was great to see her. Alfredo and I had just been talking about her and Charlie a week or so ago and wondering how they were.

Ryan Harris was there. He's still single. Jason Stout came. Still single but dating someone, of course. Steve Ellis and his wife were there. They have a three year old boy and 10 month old twin boys. Their boys all have red hair. I held one of them for a bit. They are so cute. Immanuel was there with his wife.

I guess we just missed Arlen. He left shortly before we arrived. I was surprised that Annalisa wasn't there. And I wish Kathy had been. Other than that, we saw many of our close friends. It's too bad in a way that we haven't stayed closer to some of them. But most of us have gotten married, moved (most of us not too far, though), had children, etc. It's hard sometimes as your life changes to keep in touch with friends. And while I know it will be quite some time before I see most of them again, it was really nice to see them tonight.

Memory Lane Tag

Memory Lane.....
THIS tag is fun AND easy!!!

RULES
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

random stuff

I nearly burned my house down today. Well, not really. My friend Carin and I decided to do some freezer meals... each of us are cooking four meals x 4, then we'll trade 1/2 of them. This will give each of us 16 meals (2 each of 8 meals) to freeze and use. So I was working on that this morning. I was boiling chicken (and had been for awhile... I needed a lot of chicken cooked). My kids decided they wanted to play outside and so I went outside for a few minutes to put sunscreen on them. I wasn't outside long, maybe five minutes, but when I came back in, my house was filled with smoke. Not just a little smoke... enough that just running to the kitchen to take the pot off the stove and turn on the fan made me nearly gag and made my eyes water. Fortunately, most of my windows in my house were already open, and I ran back outside and stayed there for another 5 minutes waiting for the smoke to dissipate. The water had boiled out of the pan (I obviously hadn't been watching it very closely even when I was in the house, because I was chopping veggies and stuff) and I think I've destroyed my pan. But the good news is that all but one piece of chicken was salvageable. And my house is still standing. :)

Today Ella told me that I couldn't get on the trampoline. (we were inside the house, so i'm not sure what prompted this remark.) I asked why (not that I would even consider jumping right now). She said, "If you jump, the baby will fall out of you." :) If only delivering a baby were that easy or predictable! :)

But as for delivering the baby, I had a doctor's appointment this week. I'm beginning to dilate (I'm at one) and I'm 50% effaced. I'm 36 weeks along (I"ll try to post a picture tomorrow...I've hated the last couple taken of me and won't post them) and so this baby will come before too much longer. I don't think she'll come early, but probably not too late either.

On Wednesday, we went to the zoo with Shannon, Xaria and Tylan. Tomorrow I hopefully will post a couple of pics of our trip.

Does Michelle look like her mommy or daddy?

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Descendants - Family history

This one I'm not as sure about. I really think that despite her coloring being more like Alfredo's, that she has more of my features...she looks more like my side of the family. But either way, both of my girls are beautiful! They seem to have gotten the best of both sides of our families. Lucky them!

Who do YOU think Ella looks like?

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Pedigree - Family history

According to this website, Ella looks more like her daddy. That's what we think too! :) I copied this from my friend Emily's brand new blog. Fun. Thanks Emily!

TTA: Proud to be an American

This week's Tuesday Tell All is to explain why you are proud to be an American.

Here are a few reasons: First and foremost, I am grateful and proud to be an American because of our freedoms, in particular freedom of religion. I am grateful that we are able to choose which church to belong to and are not persecuted, imprisoned, etc. for our beliefs.

I'm grateful for our other freedoms as well: freedom of speech, freedom of press, right to bear arms, right to vote, etc.

I'm grateful to live in a land where we get to choose our leaders.

I'm grateful for the soldiers, past and present, who have fought for and protected our rights.

I'm grateful to live in a land of beauty. I love the song America the Beautiful. This truly is a land of beauty. We have mountains, oceans, rivers, waterfalls, deserts, prairies, forests, lakes, and canyons. Many of these can be found right here in Utah where I live.

I'm proud to live in a land where so many great inventions have been made and where people continue to create new inventions and innovations.

I'm proud to live in a land where we have the opportunity to choose what we will do for a living and who we will be.

I'm grateful to live in a land where I can choose who my doctor is and can have a say in the treatments I receive.

I'm grateful that I can choose how many children to have.

I'm grateful that I can read what I choose to read.

I'm proud to live in a land that believes in God. God bless the USA!

May and June Reads

About Alice by Calvin Trillin
Blind Spot by Terri Persons... okay, I don't recommend it
Do No Harm By Gregg Luke
Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson
i am the messenger by Marcus Zusak
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (an old childhood favorite...reread)
The Betrayal by Beverly Lewis
The Book Thief By Marcus Zusak
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
most of Having a Baby Naturally

2 patriotic treats

I decided to make two patriotic treats for the fourth of July. The first was this flag ice cream dessert. It was yummy (but melted somewhat in the car from my house to my aunts... it was hot on the fourth!)

This idea came from a Parents magazine from a Dreyers ice cream add. Here's how to make it:

Take one carton (1.5 quart) of vanilla ice cream and cut the carton away. Cut the ice cream into 4 equal pieces and place on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Then add a layer of fresh fruit. (I used bananas, but I bet kiwi, strawberries or blackberries would be really good...) Now take a second carton of vanilla ice cream and cut the carton away. Cut the ice cream into 4 equal pieces and layer over the fresh fruit. Freeze for about an hour. Right before serving, smooth whip cream over the whole dessert. Then place fresh blueberries to make the star area and place fresh strawberries (cut in 1/2) or raspberries (I wanted to use raspberries, but the store was out when I got there) to make the stripes. Very yummy.

The second treat was red, white and blue popsicles. This idea came from the Family Fun (magazine) website. Here's how I made them:

Make red koolaid according to packet directions. (Or use cranraspberry juice). Fill small paper cups about 1/3 full with koolaid or juice. Freeze for about an hour. (The recipe online said 30-45 minutes, but that wasn't long enough for our freezer... the white mixed right in with the red). this only uses about 1/2 of the koolaid to make 10-12.

Then mix 2 cups vanilla yogurt and 2 cups whipped topping. Add a scoop to each popsicle. Insert a craft stick. Freeze for another hour (or so).

Then make blue koolaid according to packet directions. Pour some into each cup. Again, about 1/3- 1/2 of the koolaid will be left over. Freeze for 1 -2 hours. To serve, peel the paper cup away and enjoy.

I thought the white layer was especially good... almost like a creamsicle. We've been enjoying these on these hot summer days.

4th of july festivities

We started the day by doing a Fourth of July craft. The girls (with help from me) made sand art pictures. Except we used kosher salt (it's bigger than regular table salt). All you do is put some sand/salt in a sandwich bag and add food coloring. Then you put glue on the paper and shake the salt onto the paper. It makes fun pictures. They asked me to help them with the glue to make shapes.
They both enjoyed this project, although Ella got a little upset that she was supposed to shake the extra salt off.
That evening (after the girls helped me make 2 treats and 1 salad) we went to my aunt Elaine and uncle Phil's house for a barbecue. Here's Ella with Phil. Phil's two daughters and their families were also there.
After dinner, we sat outside and they did a couple of fireworks. They decided to save most of them until after it got dark. Because Alfredo had to work at 5:30 this morning and the next morning, we headed home so he could go to bed.
But the Bankheads had invited us over to do fireworks at their house. So the girls and I watched Dan and Dallin light fireworks. They both really enjoyed the show and had fun doing sparklers. After the fireworks, the girls chased Dallin around and we all had Creamies. Dallin is really sweet to my kids and they adore him. And while Ella used to be very shy around Dan, she now adores him. She yells hi from our house every time she sees him outside and talks to him. We're glad to have such great neighbors and friends.

I am eggs

Just a silly quiz, but it does sort of describe me.

(Although I wouldn't say I could make a feast out of simple ingredients...I'm an okay cook but not that great.)

You Are Eggs
Traditional and totally grown up, you truly believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.You don't skimp on nutrition or quality. You're likely to take the time to make yourself a decent meal each morning.You're a great cook, even if you aren't a showy one. You can make a feast out of simple ingredients.The food you eat may be basic, but you prefer to think of it as classic.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofbreakfastareyouquiz

girls camp

Girls camp was this past week. Jaylynn and I drove the girls up to Wallsburg on Monday but then came back. (Ione, Debbie and Gerri stayed all week.) Then yesterday, Jaylynn and I headed back up there to spend the day with the girls. They did a craft and had a fairly laid back afternoon. Mostly we sat around talking and telling stories. Then it was Bishopric night. The girls cooked spaghetti and rolls and made dutch oven cobbler. They had a neat activity and a fireside speaker. Then there was testimony meeting. They are such neat girls. I love that they get along so well. Everyone feels included and it is neat to see some of the older girls really helping the 12 and 13 year olds to feel comfortable. They are not perfect, but they are so good. It is amazing to see their faith and courage and determination to do what is right. They believe in themselves and they believe in God. They are wonderful. Michelle and Ella adore them, and I feel grateful that they have such good role models. I hope Michelle and Ella grow up to be like these young women.

The speakers at the fireside were very good. Brother Brinley, a seminary teacher, spoke about how important our decisions are. He used President Uchtdorf's talk about how even a small degree of error can lead to major problems. For an airplane, a one degree error can land the plane in a different state/country. So, too, making small mistakes can start us off in the wrong direction and lead to bigger and bigger mistakes. Then our stake president, President Meservy, talked about how important it is to cling to the iron rod... to be strong and do what is right. In college, he had a Bishop remark that it was easy to hold to the iron rod with a rubber band... he encouraged the girls (all of us) to make sure that we have a firm grasp... not to be holding on with a rubber band. Of course, we all make mistakes and need to make course corrections (repent). It was a great fireside, filled with the spirit.

Again, I love the girls! I'm so glad I could go spend a day with them and watch them interact and help one another. I worked with many of them when we first moved into this house and ward 6 years ago. They were Beehives then. Now all my Beehives are 15-18 years old. It is amazing to see how much they have grown up and matured and learned in the past few years.

Alyssa and Samantha... our first year campers (12 year olds) cooked dinner for us last night.
Kayla braided many of the girls' hair.

da girls... chattin'
Jaylynn and Sidney

Lily

As I mentioned before, I am now watching a friend's baby two days a week (Tues./Thurs.). Her name is Lily and she is 8 months old. She is a cutie. My girls adore her. I can tell they will both be great big sisters for this new baby, because they love Lily and any other baby they have been around. Although Ella may just drive me bonkers, asking to hold the new baby. She thinks she should get to hold the baby all day long. Lily does not agree. Here are a few shots of them today: Lily is not that much smaller than Ella. She did not want Ella to hold her... she wanted to crawl around and play. Ella was determined to put Lily on her lap. You can see Lily's dismay.
Michelle and Lily... She was okay being held for the moment
Look at her beautiful blue eyes.
Poor baby is teething and tried to chew everything within reach today.

She's a pretty sweet baby and usually fairly content. She was a little fussy this morning but had a happy afternoon.

lunch

Today I went to lunch with the other 2 third grade teachers from my school, Liz and Brenda. We have worked together for the past 3 years and have been a great team. We've become good friends. Brenda has a daughter that is one week older than Ella. Liz is an amazing athlete; last fall she ran a 100 mile race and came in first for the women. They are great teachers and have become my good friends. Liz is leaving us though. She will spend the next year teaching at a bilingual school in Costa Rica. She leaves in a week. So we got together and talked and had a nice time. I brought the girls (and Lily, who I'm babysitting) and they adore Liz and Brenda. We will really miss Liz.

We went to The Lazy Dog Pizzeria. Liz's brother owns it, and the food is delicious! If you are ever downtown, you should check it out. It is at 317 S. Main Street. You can check out their menu at http://www.lazydogpizzeria.com/ . The pizza was delicious. Michelle ate 1/2 of a personal size pizza by herself, and she's not a big eater.

My parents sent me an email with this information and video. For those who are interested, check it out. It is pretty amazing.

Brief explanation: For many years the Mesa Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mesa, Arizona) has had exhibits on the temple grounds during the Easter season. This year, there was also a 'Reflections of Christ' photography exhibit in the Mesa TempleVisitor's Center. The photographer was given permission to photograph Pageant cast members for the exhibit. They traveled to various locations in Arizona that the photographer felt looked like the placesIn Israel where the events took place and recreated the scenes.The photographer worked with a few other individuals to put together a 5 minute slideshow which includes every image from the exhibit set to the hymn 'Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.' Just remember when you're watching the video that the photographs are real, they aren't paintings… Incredible!

http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/2008/03/reflections-sli.html

I'd really recommend you check this out. It is beautiful.

an aunt again

My sister Rebecca had her third baby yesterday. Hannah Ackroyd was born at 8:35 PM in Alberta, Canada. She was eight pounds, 14 ounces and 20 inches long. I haven't got any pictures yet, but when she emails some, I will post them.

Rebecca was due on June 20. Living in Canada, procedure is that you aren't induced until 11 days after your due date. And apparently, on the day you are to be induced, the hospital can call anytime between 8 AM and 8 PM to have you come in and be induced. So Rebecca waited around for the call. By four PM, she was having regular, but mild, contractions on her own. She decided to head for the hospital and see if they would admit her. I guess it took almost an hour to be seen by a doctor, but they did admit her and her baby was born naturally a few hours later. Hooray!

Our kids have all been born within 4 months of each other. Her son Evan and my Michelle are 4 months apart (Evan is older). Ella was born 2 months before Sarah. Now her Hannah will be about one month older than our new one (probably Gabrielle?!).

Too bad our families don't live closer and don't get to see each other very often!

quote of the day

Today, after our edible art class, Michelle asked how many kids another family in our class had. I said 4. She counted, 2 girls, 2 boys, yep that's four.

I asked how many kids we'll have after the baby is born and she immediately said three. Ten second pause, then Michelle says, "If we had a thousand kids, that would be a whole lot of problems." Pause. "It would be problems to take care of them and problems to put them in the car and problems to feed them." I laughed and had to agree. A thousand kids would be a whole lot of problems! :)

TTA: touch

Things I like to touch/feel:

• soft baby blankets
• babies...they have the softest skin and I love when they wrap their tiny fingers around yours
• holding hands

Things I DON'T like:

• I hate the feel of sand between my toes, particularly at parks. I love beaches and it's not so bad there where the sand seems smoother and wet.
• I hate to have other people touch my face.
• sweat
• cold showers
• sticky stuff like lollipops

Edible Art

On Tuesday afternoons, the girls and I go to an edible art class. (It's through Granite Peaks community ed.) The girls have really enjoyed it.

These are the projects we've done so far. (I want to record them so I can remember to do them again sometime.)

Week 1: used cookie cutters to cut Rice Krispies into fun shapes. Then frosted them and added candies to decorate them.
Week 2: made trains: pretzel sticks for the train tracks, swiss rolls and nutter butters(maybe?) for the cars, crackers or oreos for the wheels, a big marshmellow for the smokestack, frosting to hold it together
Week 3: made pizza faces (used all the toppings to make faces: pepperoni, olives, ham, pineapple, cheese, etc.) and twisted breadsticks into fun shapes
Week 4 (today): pudding with food coloring added used to paint on plates/paper, candies to decorate Michelle made a flower design and a heart and some other shapes. Ella smeared the pudding and then stuck candies all over it. Check out the pictures of their work:

Ella's plate painting with tons of candy

Michelle painted a flower in the middle (pink and orange... it really looks quite good up close) with circles surrounding the flower
All 3 of Michelle's creations

Ella's creations